


Bliss

by lookingforthestars



Category: Scorpion (TV 2014)
Genre: Best Ma'am, Dude of Honor, F/M, Wedding Planning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-10-09 06:16:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10405806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lookingforthestars/pseuds/lookingforthestars
Summary: Wedding planning leaves Walter with a few realizations.





	1. Flowers

As it turned out, he and Paige were a formidable wedding planning team.

Paige had the organizational skills to stay on top of Happy's list and the knowledge of what needed to be added or given higher priority. Walter could then map Paige's data to create efficient routes for errands and a timeline of optimal completion for each task.

He'd thought this would bore him to tears. But Paige's enthusiasm was strangely infectious.

Perhaps it was simply appealing to see her smile so much. She was the polar opposite of Happy and while the mechanic wasn't drawn to the glitz and the glitter, Paige certainly was. Her face seemed to light up every time they went into one of these places, where the walls were always painted pink and the air filled with cheesy ballads. Walter knew why Happy had assigned them these jobs. She wouldn't last ten seconds.

The genius, unsurprisingly, was inclined to share Happy's sentiment. But there weren't many places he wouldn't follow Paige Dineen, and a flower shop did rank among the less harrowing locations they'd been together.

Walter was focused on their next task— _find me a DJ that doesn't suck, will ya?_ —which Paige, as the garage's preeminent expert of music from the last decade, had jumped at. He was scrolling through websites on his tablet, weeding out everyone who fell outside Happy's designated price range.

"Walter?"

"Mm?"

"What do you think?"

His eyes flicked up and he knew instantly that he wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted him. Paige's delicate fingers were wrapped around the stems of a calla lily bouquet, holding it slightly away from her body. Her skin looked brighter against the petals, mingling with her broad smile to make her practically glow. She'd worn a white shirt that day, with slightly loose sleeves and three buttons at the top, and Walter knew the color was simply tricking his brain. She was wearing jeans. _Jeans. Not even close to a wedding dress. Pull it together._

He gripped the tablet hard.

"T-They're…" They weren't for Paige, they were for Happy. Would Happy like them? How was he supposed to know? "Nice," he finished in a mildly convincing voice.

"Yeah. I think so too." There was a slight pink tinge in Paige's cheeks. She'd seen him staring. He was an idiot for being so obvious. But she didn't appear uncomfortable.

Walter blushed harder, because he just had to win at everything, even embarrassment.

The florist, a woman in her fifties with dyed blonde hair and dark roots, glanced between the two of them and smiled. "When's the big day?"

Paige ripped her eyes away from his and grinned sheepishly as she placed the flowers back into their display vase. "We're, uh, shopping for our friend. She's a little overwhelmed by this stuff. She doesn't want anything too girly."

"Sure. We get a lot of untraditional couples nowadays. Want to do something different. I can make some suggestions?"

The liaison spared Walter another glance, and he offered a quick nod before funneling his attention back toward his DJ search. If Happy and Toby had a fraction of the reaction to each other that he had around Paige, Walter doubted they would be able to hear any music over their own roaring heartbeats.

* * *

"You're quiet."

Walter pressed his lips together. He knew he'd been mostly silent on the ride back to the garage, but it seemed safer that way. One look at Paige with that bouquet and he nearly blurted out that he loved her, with the florist and fifty-six species of flowers as his witnesses. They had weeks more work left and the genius wasn't sure how long he could keep his head on straight.

The sight of any of the other women he dated in a wedding dress would have sent him into a panic. Hell, he'd been married before and it had never affected him in any particularly powerful way. But seeing Paige in this environment made him realize just how different everything was now. How much the idea of that future with her scared him because it didn't really scare him at all.

He decided to change the subject. He needed to get out of his head. "I was thinking. About, uh…" Paige angled in the passenger seat to face him better. It was a subconscious method to encourage Walter to open up to her. He wondered if she even realized she was doing it. "You know a lot about weddings. But when we looked into Drew, there was no record that the two of you were ever married."

She didn't answer immediately, and Walter wondered if he'd hit a sore spot. Drew was a topic overwhelmingly avoided at the garage, and Paige revealed very little about their relationship before its complicated end. It was far in the past; perhaps she didn't see the point in dredging it up. But he was curious.

"Y-You don't have to answer that."

Paige shook her head. "No, it's…it's okay." In his peripheral vision, he could see the liaison fiddle with a thin silver ring on her right hand. Cheap costume jewelry, but the instinct was the same. "I don't know if I could really say that Drew and I were engaged. I mean, he never got down on one knee and proposed, or anything. But we did plan to get married. It was just something we sort of mutually acknowledged would happen, if that makes sense."

Walter shrugged. "You had Ralph. The three of you were living together."

"Yeah. And I've been a bridesmaid before. I helped some of my friends out, like, the girls I went to college with." She glanced down at her hands. "So I knew where to start. I looked at dresses and picked out flowers and had," Paige huffed out a laugh, "I don't know, a font for the invitations and everything. But no date. And Drew kept postponing setting one until eventually he just didn't really want to talk about it anymore."

Walter bit the inside of his cheek, a ridiculous pang of jealousy spiking through him. Drew had everything and he'd given it all up, abandoned a family that loved him to chase an immature dream. It was illogical.

"I-I'm sorry." He glanced over at Paige, hoping that his expression reflected sympathy but not pity. She hated pity.

Paige gave him a sad smile. "Thanks. But, uh, it was obviously for the best. When Drew started leaving for longer and longer periods, I realized that what I really wanted was stability for Ralph. I wasn't doing it for my own happiness, and we were never going to be very stable with Drew anyway, so…but fortunately it hasn't tainted the process for me."

Walter's lips curved. "I'm sure Happy's grateful for that."

"I'm sure." She tipped her chin toward the genius. "Your turn, dude of honor."

"Uh…" He frowned. "Happy and I didn't do any of this wedding stuff."

"Yeah, I know. I bet it was the least romantic wedding in history. But that's not what I was asking."

The light ahead of him turned red and Walter braked hard to make up for his delayed reaction time. "Sorry," he mumbled, shifting in his seat. God, she scrambled his brain so easily. "What was the question?"

Paige grinned and reached out, lightly bumping his arm with hers. "You were awfully interested in being best man for someone who never believed in love or marriage. Or weddings, at least. Was it just your competitive streak or did the great Walter O'Brien get swept up in the spirit?"

Heat crept into his cheeks again and he double-checked the light as it changed to green. His foot eased over to the gas pedal. "Happy married me to keep me in the country. That was a big sacrifice. And it caused a lot of problems with her and Toby, so…I feel like I owe them, I guess?" Walter wondered if Paige would think that sounded impersonal and added, "I w-want to. Do all this. To repay them…well, mostly Happy."

She smirked, her amusement evident. "I thought you would be more concerned about them getting married, that's all. Given your reservations about their relationship."

"They clearly aren't going to listen to me anyway."

Another laugh escaped Paige's lips, but there was a strange hollowness behind it. Walter cleared his throat. He wasn't always good about telling her the truth. This seemed like an appropriate time.

"And, uh…" His gaze met hers, briefly, before he stared ahead at the road. "They're making it work. They hit obstacle after obstacle, a-and they keep going. I still have my concerns, but I think that if they love each other…" Walter wet his lips with his tongue. "T-Then it's worth trying."

Paige's eyes widened. He'd said the right thing. "Huh."


	2. Dress

Walter O'Brien always knew how to get inside her head.

She'd been thinking about what he said for three days. Through cases, paperwork, chores at home and sometimes even sleep, his voice rattled around in her mind. _If they love each other, then it's worth trying._

He was talking about Happy and Toby. Just like he was when he gave her that impassioned speech before pushing her out the door to Tahoe. But…

Maybe not _just_ them, right?

Paige was going down a dangerous path. It wasn't like she'd forgotten what he said to her in space, but his support for the marriage of two of his team members—and _good lord_ , the way he looked at her when she was holding those flowers—made it all seem much more real.

She was in trouble.

"Now you're quiet," Walter offered, his mouth quirking up. He'd been smiling so much lately. "Do you want to finish these fries?"

Paige considered his offer as he extended the greasy paper bag. Walter wasn't usually one for fast food, but he definitely wasn't one for malls, either, and he'd only griped once when an overzealous kiosk clerk tried to spritz him with cologne.

She shook her head. Walter shrugged and tossed the food into a trash can behind her, using his now-free hand to reach for one of her shopping bags. "I've got it."

"Thanks," Paige said, furrowing her eyebrows. The genius really was on his best behavior. It was slightly unsettling. "I just want to check out one more store and then we can get out of here."

"Okay. What are we looking for?"

"Happy's having a hard time deciding what color the wedding party should wear. Figured I'd take a look and see if anything pops out. I need a dress and the three of you need ties."

Walter smirked. "And what exactly are Happy and Toby doing while we run all of their errands?"

"They have to be married. That's the hard part," she joked, bumping Walter's shoulder lightly with her own and earning another smile. Sometimes their relationship seemed eternally complicated, but times like this—when it was just the two of them, enjoying each other's company—nothing seemed simpler. Paige pointed to the directory at the entrance of the department store. "Electronics are downstairs. Want me to meet you there?"

Walter grimaced. "Not unless you're fine with me sharing my opinions on password safety."

She rolled her eyes. She'd been on the receiving end of that lecture more than once. "Formal wear it is then."

* * *

"This is ridiculous," Paige muttered under her breath as her fingers grasped at air. Granted, it had been about fifteen years since her cheerleading days, but she didn't think she'd lost all of her flexibility in that time.

"Walter?" she called through the door. "I need help."

She heard rustling as he rose from his uncomfortably firm seat. She'd been happy to find a unisex dressing room so she wouldn't have to step outside to flag Walter down. "Do you need me to get someone?"

"Uh…" Paige hadn't thought that far ahead. She was halfway into a dark red sheath that she thought complemented Happy's dress nicely, but the zipper was stuck in an unreachable spot on her back and she couldn't get a handle on it to save her life. The logical option was to grab a sales associate to finish the job, but the illogical part of Paige's brain had a very different thought. "No need. I'm coming out."

She unlatched the door and ducked her head, suddenly nervous to see Walter's reaction. Happy certainly wasn't the only person she had in mind when she was picking out potential best ma'am dresses. Paige chanced a look in the genius's direction and nearly melted under his appreciative gaze as it raked slowly from her face down to the hem just above her knees.

"Can you…?" She turned around, feeling her face flush the color of the fabric. At least she'd managed to get the closure up past her bra, saving both Walter and herself from aneurysms. He stepped forward, hesitating slightly before one hand rested on her waist, thumb pressing slightly into her back. Paige swallowed to keep herself from blatantly leaning into his touch. That proved harder as his other hand reached up to move her hair aside, the tips of his fingers just barely brushing over her exposed skin, sending a shiver through her that someone as perceptive as the genius would almost certainly notice.

There was no chance he was doing this accidentally, was there? He had to know the effect he was having. Admittedly, she'd been curious how he would react. Would he be quick and efficient? Or would he take his time and savor the chance to touch her? And how would she feel when he did?

Paige bit her lip. She'd gotten her answer, at the expense of her sanity and any illusions about being in control of her feelings for Walter.

"D-Done," he muttered, his breathing as uneven as hers surely was. The loss of his warmth as he backed away yanked Paige out of her daze and she blinked. "I already have a tie that color."

"What?" Paige faced him, surprised by his neutral expression. He'd recovered impossibly quickly. Or had she just imagined his physical response to her?

_Pull it together. You're here on a mission and that mission is not to jump 197._

The liaison exhaled. "Right, uh, the tie. Yeah, I think…I think these colors will look nice. Is the dress okay?" She angled toward the mirror, examining herself from the front and sides. It was form-fitting, but not overly so. She felt comfortable, though she was starting to wonder if she could ever wear it again without recalling the past few minutes and having a mild stroke.

She glanced at Walter's reflection in the glass and felt a smile creep onto her face as he nodded. "You look, uh…" He pressed his lips together and bowed his head. "S-Stunning."

Tempted as she was to pass out at the moment, Paige settled for offering him a shaky smile. "Thank you, Walter." She cleared her throat. "So I'll get this?"

"Y-Yeah. It's nice. A-And it should be easy for your date to match you."

Paige frowned, her hand on the dressing room door. Did Walter think she was bringing someone else to the wedding? Was _he_ bringing someone else to the wedding? The idea of him dancing with another woman…oh god, she was so stupid.

"I don't have a date," she said softly, hoping her embarrassment wasn't evident in her voice. It never failed. Walter drew her in, knocked her over, and then disappeared. Why did she keep falling for it? "I-I thought…but if you're bringing a date…"

"No." His brows creased. "I'm not bringing anyone. I just assumed you would be."

She stared at him. Since the end of her relationship with Tim, she'd been spending all of her free time outside of work with him or Ralph. When would she have had a chance to meet anyone else?

"I assumed we would be each other's dates. Since we're wedding partners-in-crime?" Paige cracked a small smile to cover her insecurity. "But we don't have to—."

"I want to," Walter answered abruptly, wincing slightly at his own eagerness. "I m-mean, I'd like to. Go with you."

She blew out a breath. Communicating with the genius was nearly impossible at times. Something told her it might never really be easy. But despite all of that, there was no one she wanted to celebrate Happy and Toby's marriage with more. "I'd like that too."

* * *

"Snack and then homework, okay?"

Ralph nodded, climbing up on a stool and dropping his backpack next to him. "Did you buy a dress?"

"Yeah, and we found two more of the same tie Walter owns so that everyone will match." Paige smiled at her son. "We could get you a red bow tie. That would be cute."

He shrugged. "Sure, whatever." But the brightness in his eyes told her that he was amenable to the idea. "Mom?"

The timer beeped and Paige grabbed his chicken strips from the microwave, placing them in front of him on the counter with a bottle of ketchup. "Yeah, honey?"

"Are you and Walter going to be picking me up together a lot?"

She stilled, raising her eyebrows. If they were out on errands together, like today, the older genius always offered to come with her to Ralph's school. It was efficient. Sometimes they went out to eat afterward, although Paige had insisted on going straight home this time so Ralph could study for his biology test.

"Maybe? I don't know. If Walter's not busy, I guess. Why?"

The boy swirled ketchup on his plate and dunked a piece of chicken into it with his other hand. "This is the third time you've both picked me up this week. My teacher asked me about it."

Paige blushed. Clearly she was going to have to set some personal boundaries during her next parent conference. "We've been busy helping out Toby and Happy. There's a lot to do for the wedding. When that's over, things will go back to normal."

"Oh."

Ralph was…disappointed? Paige leaned forward, resting her forearms on the counter so she could meet his eyes. "What is it?"

"You're happier lately." He ripped his chicken strip in half. "Like, really happy."

"I like all this planning stuff," she insisted, trying to sound nonchalant even though she knew precisely what Ralph was implying. Maybe she'd been in a better mood recently, but she and Walter had stumbled through agreeing to even attend the wedding together. How could she give her son—or herself—hope for anything more right now?

He shot her a skeptical look. "Okay, mom."

Sometimes Paige wished she wasn't surrounded by so many damn geniuses.


	3. Dinner

_This is not a date this is not a date this is not a date this feels like a date._

"Paige?"

His concerned expression did nothing to quell her raging heartbeat. "Yeah. Sorry. What were you saying?"

"Uh…" Walter watched her for a moment before he continued. "I was asking if you had plans Saturday night. We can always let Happy and Toby—."

Hell no, she wasn't letting him cancel on her again. "Nope," Paige recovered, a little awkwardly, shaking her head to add emphasis. "Saturday is great. Think I would miss out on Toby actually offering to buy something?"

Walter's shoulders relaxed and he cracked a pleased smile. "It happens with roughly the same frequency as Halley's Comet." He paused and added, "Halley's Comet is only visible every—."

"Yeah, I got the reference, thank you." Paige took a deep breath, and then another. How could she get so worked up over nothing? It hadn't even been Walter's idea. This was just another wedding errand—Toby and Happy were looking for an upscale restaurant for their rehearsal dinner, and needed a full report on one of their finalists. The behaviorist agreed to foot the bill—reluctantly—as a thank you for their assistance.

She and Walter had been to dinner dozens of times. But this wasn't a ratty booth at Kovelsky's. Factoring in the incredibly charged atmosphere between her and Walter over the past few weeks, and the fact that her son wouldn't be there to act as a buffer…it was everything she'd wanted since their Valentine's Day outing was thwarted three years earlier, and the prospect terrified her.

"We'll have to work, but not much." Her attention snapped back to the genius and she tried to focus on his voice. "You deserve this. You've been working nonstop lately."

Paige felt heat creep under her skin. She'd never been very good at accepting praise, and she rarely felt worthy of the admiration she saw in Walter's eyes. "So have you," she insisted, sliding her hands down into her pockets to keep herself from fidgeting. "You've been there for practically everything I've done, and this stuff is torture for you."

"It's…" He tilted his head, searching for the right words. "Not as bad as I was expecting?"

She smiled, and Walter smiled, and it took a long second for Paige to realize that they were just standing there grinning like idiots. There was no doubting that he'd been unhappy when she was with Tim, and that his mood had improved considerably since the buoy incident. _Correlation is not causation,_ a voice echoed in her head. Was he happier because they had been spending so much time together? Was it simply because the trainee was gone? Or did it have nothing to do with them at all?

She knew she was overthinking this. But she'd let her feelings lead before and suffered for it.

_Maybe dinner is a bad idea._ "I'll meet you here at seven?"

Paige blinked. It was like her brain and her mouth weren't even communicating.

"I can pick you up," Walter offered. That would be too much like a date. She needed to set some boundaries if they were going to keep this in safe territory.

"No." She bit her lip. "The garage is closer. I'll come here."

* * *

Walter was staring at her legs.

Subtly, of course. He'd be mortified if he knew she noticed. She might not have picked up on it, honestly, if she hadn't been so embarrassingly anxious about his reaction.

Paige had worn this dress before, the night she and Walter sang together in Africa to provide a distraction. She'd debated for over an hour about going out to buy a new one, but _this wasn't a date_ and she didn't need the extra pressure. She would have worn jeans if the restaurant allowed it.

_Yeah, right._

And now she knew what it felt like, his fingers trailing over her bare skin, and she wished she didn't, because she was reliving it every time he looked at her and it made her feel shaky and raw.

He'd shed his suit jacket as soon as they sat down. Walter wore button-downs and ties all the time, it wasn't like this was new, but they were dressed up at a dimly-lit restaurant and it was the most romantic non-date she'd ever been on.

She downed another sip of her wine.

"So what's the verdict?" Paige asked to break the silence, not because it was uncomfortable, but because it was providing too much space for her thoughts to run wild. "It's nice. I like the lights."

It seemed dumb to call them twinkle lights, even though that's what they were. Like hundreds of stars surrounding them, glowing against the dark ceilings and walls. "Yeah. They're nice," he agreed easily, but he was gazing at her again, and Paige hoped the darkness was enough to hide her flush. She wanted to blame it on the alcohol, but she wasn't capable of that kind of denial on her best day. "The kitchen is slow, though. We've been waiting thirty-eight minutes for our meal."

Paige grinned and rolled her eyes. "That's what happens when your food doesn't come out of a plastic bag. Nice restaurants aren't about efficiency. They're about the experience."

"Huh." He considered her explanation for a few seconds. "Is that what Happy and Toby want?"

Another tiny flutter reverberated in Paige's chest. The old Walter would never have wondered what someone else _wanted_. He would never have come to a place like this to begin with. He would never have supported a marriage between two of his friends, let alone thrown himself into making their dream wedding a reality.

She'd cared about the old Walter. Deeply. What she felt for him now was…unfathomable.

"I don't know," Paige said, realizing that she hadn't answered. "We'll give them all the facts and let them decide. But it's a solid choice."

"Okay." He fell quiet, shifting slightly in his seat as he thought, and she wasn't surprised when he spoke again. "Paige?"

"Yeah?"

"You said something. When we were at the mall, uh…" Walter swallowed. "T-That Happy and Toby being married was the hard part." His eyes lifted to meet hers and Paige would've had to be blind to miss the uneasiness in them. "Do you think they'll be okay?"

Paige knew how much the genius blamed himself when Happy rejected Toby's first proposal. Seeing two people he cared about with broken hearts had reinforced his fear of romantic relationships among the team. He was convinced he should have stopped it and saved them the pain.

Deep down, she knew that was why he'd sent her to Tahoe. To save them both. But that didn't make it hurt less.

She shrugged, curling a section of hair behind her ear. "It's never guaranteed. If anyone has a shot, though, it's them." Paige pressed her lips together. "Everything rewarding is hard, Walter. Think about the cases we've worked. You never backed away from a challenge if you thought the outcome was worth it."

"Fifty percent of marriages end in divorce."

She smiled softly. "You've risked your life on worse odds than that."

"I-It's different. When I have the control. Some things are…scarier for me to lose." He stared intently at the table, bringing his fingers up to rest on his water glass—just to have something to do with his hands, she guessed, since he didn't drink anything. "Like my sister. I would have taken her place in a second and not thought twice about it."

"I know. I know you would." Paige tried to use the voice that she knew soothed him. He'd never get over Megan's death, not completely. But every time he confronted that pain instead of pushing it down was a victory. "I understand. Kind of. With Ralph…everything he's been through, everything he _will_ go through, I wish I could take it. I wish I could experience all those bad things for him. Just let him be happy."

Walter nodded, pressing his lips together. "It's difficult to care about someone that much." Feeling her eyes on him, he looked up and immediately frowned. "What?"

Paige's lips curved as she shrugged again. "Sometimes I think I know everything about you, and sometimes I feel like I don't know you at all."

The genius opened his mouth to respond, but the clattering of dishes surprised them both as the waiter arrived with their food, setting the heated plates in front of them. "Do you need anything else?"

She looked at Walter and then back to the server. "No, thank you."

"Great." He tucked his tray underneath his arm. "By the way, we're running out fast so if you want tonight's dessert special, I suggest putting the order in now."

"Oh, okay. What is it?"

The waiter pointed to a couple sitting three feet away, and Paige thought she might faint as her face paled to the color of the tablecloth. "Baked Alaska. It's delicious."


	4. Invitations

He didn't enjoy seeing her distressed.

She'd been smiling, and then she wasn't. Walter had repeatedly assured himself that this was not a date—merely another duty on the wedding list—and he held onto that now, because if this _was_ a date, then he had managed to bungle it exactly the way he knew he would.

Paige stopped a few feet short of the car, and he stopped too, pushing his hands into his pockets. They were both going to the same place. It was illogical for them to loiter outside the restaurant when they could be in the warmth of his car. He refrained from verbalizing that.

"Thank you for tonight," she murmured. A small shiver hit her and she crossed her arms in front of her chest, running her thumbs over the fresh goosebumps on her skin. "I had a nice time."

Walter shook his head. "No you didn't." When Paige raised her eyebrows, he realized how blunt he'd sounded and attempted to backtrack. "I m-mean, you were. At least, I think you were. But after dinner came you seemed…uncomfortable." He blew out a tense breath, not sure he was ready for the answer but desperately needing one. "Did I do o-or say something wrong? I'm sorry if I—."

"Stop. Please don't apologize." She moved closer, touching her fingers to his arm briefly before removing them. "Walter, you know when you came back from the rocket, and you were craving Baked Alaska all the time?"

_What does the rocket have to do with this?_ Replaying the evening in his mind, he could recall her odd reaction when the waiter had suggested Baked Alaska. She'd eaten her pasta—only about half of it—in near silence after that, responding to his attempts at conversation with strained effort. She was also very emphatic that the two of them did not need dessert, despite Walter's inclination otherwise.

He nodded slowly.

"Well, um…" Paige sunk her teeth into her lip. "When we were trying to communicate with you up there, when you were hypoxic a-and running out of oxygen…" She hugged her arms around herself. "And we were trying to get you to pull the lever and save yourself, you kept talking about Baked Alaska. Ever since then, um, it just makes me think of how close we—the team—came to losing you. You know how dicey it was, for a while. And it dredges up a lot of that fear and anxiety again. When you were up there…"

"What?" Walter prompted when she failed to complete her sentence.

The liaison stared at him for a long moment, her eyes a little glassy, like she wasn't in immediate danger of crying but could with the right provocation. Then she shook her head and looked down at her black heels. "It doesn't matter. You're safe now. And I'm sorry. I know that I ruined tonight."

"No," he said emphatically, giving her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "I l-liked spending time with you. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Paige swallowed audibly and nodded. The confession didn't appear to relieve her. He wondered if there was more to the story. But he didn't want to push it and risk shattering all of their progress.

Neither of them made a move to get into the car, even though the wind was picking up and he knew Paige must be cold. _She's cold, you idiot._ Walter chastised himself for taking so long to process such a simple fact. He shrugged off his suit jacket, pulling the sleeves down over his wrists.

The genius hesitated before leaning forward and draping it over Paige's narrow shoulders. He'd watched Sylvester do this once, when they were at the planetarium and Megan caught a chill. A huge grin had appeared on his sister's face. She always smiled more with the mathematician.

Walter wasn't sure if his gesture was similarly appropriate. When Paige glanced up at him in surprise, he recognized belatedly that his hands were lingering on the lapels, near her exposed collarbone. He dropped them.

Paige blinked a few times before her cheeks tinged pink and she pulled the material tighter around her. "Thank you."

"Uh, y-yeah." He wished he could do more. He wished he could hold her. But if that wasn't an option, he could at least keep the night from ending just yet. "Do you want to, maybe, walk around?" There was a park nearby. Toby had mentioned it might be a nice place to take photographs before the rehearsal dinner.

She nodded again, the corner of her mouth turning up. "Okay."

* * *

"I like when you and mom pick me up together."

Walter glanced down at the young boy next to him as Ralph spun around a metal rack stacked with humorous greeting cards. He hadn't understood most of them. "Yeah. I do too." Counting today, he had joined Paige to pick Ralph up eight times in the past three weeks. It was starting to feel normal. Walter wasn't sure that was a good thing.

He'd laid awake more than once, wondering what would happen when the wedding was over. If everything would just go back to normal, with Paige and Ralph leaving at night and Walter distracting himself in the resounding emptiness of the garage. It was entirely possible, but for now…

"They're perfect!" Paige chirped as she appeared suddenly between them, holding a stack of invitations. She held out the sample card for Walter. "What do you think?"

"They're…" He frowned, studying the swirling black-and-white design. "Perfect?"

The liaison smirked. "Right. You don't have an opinion. I should have anticipated that." She stuffed the box into her oversized purse. "I'm hungry. Should we go get food?"

"Yeah. And then can Walter come over and play video games?"

Paige glanced between the geniuses, shrugging. Walter considered gently turning the offer down. The more time he was with them like this, the harder it would be if it went away. But maybe that was all the more reason to take advantage of the proximity while he could get it. "Sure, buddy."

"Cool. Miss Marquis said the three of us spending time together has been good for me." Ralph shot his mother a pointed look, which she countered with her own stern one. He presumed that Miss Marquis was the teacher in charge of directing the school's pickup line, but beyond that, Walter was lost as to the context of their silent conversation. It was none of his business, anyway.

"Did you get everything you need?" he asked when they were finished.

"I think so." Paige fished out her receipt to double check and knitted her eyebrows. "Oh, shoot. They didn't charge me for the stamps. I'll take care of this and then we can go."

She disappeared back in the direction of the register and Walter smiled. He'd always found her honesty very appealing.

Ralph yawned, clearly not as enthralled by the situation. "I don't understand why they need invitations. Wouldn't it be more efficient to e-mail everyone?"

Walter chuckled. Sometimes the young genius sounded so much like him, he couldn't believe they didn't share genetics. "Efficient, yes. But it's a special occasion. They want something more formal than e-mail."

"But marriage is just a legal arrangement. Like buying a house. Or getting your citizenship." The young genius pursed his lips. "You and mom have been running around for weeks picking up items that aren't necessary for Happy and Toby to actually _get_ married."

"That's true." Walter absentmindedly spun to a card with a dachshund on the front, above the words _Yappy Birthday_. "I'll confess it's lost on me too. But every wedding is different. This is what Happy and Toby want. And they've been through a lot this year." The failed proposal, the false pregnancy, Patrick's prison sentence—Walter was truthful when he'd told Paige that he admired their ability to overcome each obstacle they encountered. There had been plenty. "They deserve to celebrate something good. And as their friends, we should help, even if we don't always understand why."

Ralph compressed his lips, thinking hard, and then he nodded, his earlier frustration dissipated. "Okay. Got it."

"Now I'm starving." Walter jumped in his skin as Paige stepped out from behind a shelving unit, holding up her receipt. "We're clear. Kovelsky's?"

"I'm getting ice cream!" Ralph called out as he darted through the door ahead of them.

The liaison fell into step beside Walter. He wondered if she'd overheard anything, especially when she leaned in, bumping their shoulders. "I'm really glad we're doing this together," she said shyly.

He wanted to do _everything_ together, with her and Ralph, for as long as he was alive. But that was an intense thing to tell someone he wasn't even dating, so he settled for murmuring his agreement and letting the back of his hand brush against hers, smiling when she didn't pull away.


	5. Vows

Paige jumped as the garage's front door clanged shut.

Happy walked back in, blowing out a breath and running one hand through her hair. Paige waited for Toby to come rushing in after her. But he didn't.

"O'Brien," the mechanic called out, turning her focus to Walter's desk. "Is it cool if I stay here tonight?"

Walter lifted his head, surprised. It was clear they'd been fighting. It started in hushed tones at Happy's workstation, after Toby asked one too many times why she hadn't written her vows yet. The stressed and tired bride-to-be dragged him outside into the parking lot for a conversation that clearly hadn't resolved the issue. "Yes, b-but…" He set down the papers in his hand. "Why? Can't Toby just sleep at his own apartment?"

Happy narrowed her eyes at Walter and he withered. "Most of the doc's stuff is at my place. He'll have to come by to get it. Plus there's wedding crap everywhere, so…" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look, I just can't be there right now, okay?"

The genius looked to Paige for guidance and she offered him a small nod. She knew his question stemmed from genuine confusion, not reluctance. Walter had been bending over backward as Happy's groomsman lately.

He pushed out his chair and stood up. "Give me five minutes. I'll get the Airstream ready." Walter disappeared into the trailer without further exchange, shutting the door behind him, while the mechanic stared aimlessly around the garage, looking as unsure of herself as Paige had ever seen her.

"You okay?"

The mechanic crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged. "Perfect."

Though they'd grown closer since facing death together on the gondola, Paige knew baring her emotions was never going to be Happy's first instinct. Like Walter, she would open up in her time and in her own way. "Okay," the liaison offered noncommittally. "Let me know if you need anything."

"You can make sure that thing is fit for human habitation." Happy tilted her chin at the Airstream before turning around and heading toward the kitchen. "Who the hell knows what they've been doing in there since your mom left."

Paige smiled at Happy's retreating back. In her own untactful way, she was asking for help. And that was a win.

Recalling the multitude of odd experiments she'd discovered in Walter's loft, she decided the mechanic's request was also a practical one and abandoned her task to join him in the trailer. Paige knocked once and cracked the door open, peering around it. "Safe to come in?"

"Uh, yeah." Walter blinked, coming out of his daze as she stepped inside. He was holding a stack of folded sheets and pillowcases in his hands but making no move toward the bed.

She knew that look. He was, as he would say, _perturbed_. Paige tilted her head, understanding dawning on her. "You're worried about them."

His fingers curled around the linens and he compressed his lips. "T-They don't usually fight like that. Happy has never asked to sleep here before. Do you think—."

"No," she interrupted, knowing exactly what he was going to ask. "I don't think they're canceling the wedding. I think Happy is just overwhelmed and stretched thin. And you get how aggravating Toby can be when he badgers someone."

"That's…" Walter's shoulders relaxed slightly. "Accurate."

Paige reached out to take the sheets from his hands and place them on the table before coming closer, resting her hand tentatively on his arm and rubbing a small circle with her thumb. "I know it seems bad. But it's like you said, Happy and Toby have hit a million obstacles and gotten through all of them. This will blow over too."

Walter swallowed. "I'm going to be concerned every time this happens, Paige. The stakes are high. F-For all of us."

He'd _just_ started to believe that relationships among the team could work. Paige felt instantly guilty for the fear that shot through her. Of course Happy and Toby belonged together—she didn't want to see them throw that away. But a small part of her also knew that if they failed, Walter would never take the chance to be with her. And that thought was unbearable.

"Paige?"

Walter was watching her with concern and she realized far too slowly that she was squeezing his arm. She dropped her hand like she'd been burned, heat prickling under her skin. "Sorry. I guess I'm nervous too." Paige exhaled deeply. _Stop making this crisis all about you._ "Happy needs time to unwind. Wedding stress isn't unusual. Tomorrow will be better."

"Okay." Walter shuffled nervously, shifting his weight to his other side. "C-Can you…I mean since Ralph is with Sylvester a-and you…" He bit the inside of his cheek. "I don't want to make it worse."

Somewhere in the midst of his stuttering, Paige pieced together that he was asking her to stay at the garage until Happy had settled in. That was a much more appealing prospect than heading home to an empty apartment, and the odds of Walter unintentionally rubbing Happy the wrong way when she was this edgy were significant. It was the logical option. "Of course. That's my job."

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay to drive?"

Paige covered her mouth with her palm as she yawned. "Yeah, I'll be fine if I leave now. It shouldn't take me long to get back at this hour."

Walter knew she was right. The traffic on her route was negligible after midnight. He'd driven her home a few times after cases. It wouldn't stop him from worrying about her, though. "You know you're welcome to stay here if—."

"I'm fine, Walter," she said with an amused smile. "I'll text you as soon as I get to my apartment. Alright?"

"Fine." That would have to be enough. Maybe one day she would… _don't even think about it, you're just torturing yourself._ "T-Thank you for staying to help with Happy. I appreciate it."

The mechanic had been asleep for hours now. She humored Paige by siting through half a movie—something about employees at a record store, which at least gave Happy and Paige the benefit of discussing their musical preferences—before locking herself in the Airstream. Walter was grateful for the liaison's presence. Assisting Happy was still outside the scope of his EQ, but he felt much less anxiety following Paige's lead.

And when she'd stayed planted in the middle of the couch instead of scooting over to take Happy's spot, leaning close enough that he could feel the heat radiating from her body even though they weren't touching, he was grateful for an entirely different reason.

"Hey," she said quietly, shaking him out of his wandering thoughts. "Get some sleep tonight, okay? I know you're going to obsess, but just…don't worry. Scorpion will be fine."

He hoped she wasn't just talking about the company. He hoped she knew that he cared about more than that.

"I'm meeting the DJ Sunday to go over the playlist. Want to come with me?" Walter theorized that Paige was changing the subject deliberately, demonstrating that the wedding plans were still intact. Neither of them could know that for sure, but he chose to share her optimism.

"Sure. When?"

"Noon." There was a faint jingle from the charms on her gold bracelet as Paige twisted her wrist. He liked the sound. There wasn't much he didn't like when it came to her. "We could go to breakfast first, if you wanted."

 _If you wanted._ Of course he wanted. Whatever was motivating Paige to request his company so often, Walter knew he would be a fool to turn her down, even if part of him was still insisting that was the safer course.

"Just us?" He cringed. He didn't know why he'd said it like that. It made him look desperate.

But Paige simply quirked her lips, warmth flooding her expression. "Yeah. Just you and me." Her hand flew up to her lips as she stifled another abrupt yawn and huffed out a laugh. "It's late. We can talk more about it tomorrow. Call me if you need any help with Happy, okay?"

"Yeah. Okay."

"Okay," Paige echoed, still for a long moment. Then she stepped forward and slid her arms around his neck, slowly enough that Walter could have pulled back if he was uncomfortable. But he hadn't been uncomfortable with her touch in a long time, and when she rested her chin on his shoulder and settled her weight against him, he didn't hesitate to link his hands at the small of her back. "Night, Walter."

He could get used to her leaving like this. "Good night."

* * *

_Just us?_

_Just you and me._

Walter knew that Paige was right. He was exhausted from burning the candle at every conceivable angle and needed at least five hours of sleep to face the following day. Especially if the tension between Happy and Toby lingered.

But something about Paige's words was giving him a disruptive case of déjà vu. That didn't necessarily mean anything; there were plenty of potential neurological factors that led to such a sensation. Still, if it would ease his mind, Walter knew where to start.

He'd been remembering little things. Words and images he couldn't place. While frustrating for a person with perfect recall, it hadn't worried him. He never even considered their origin in his missing time aboard the rocket until Paige described her aversion to Baked Alaska. Richard Elia had already given him access to all the intel about the project, including the camera feeds. The only reason he'd neglected to watch them earlier was embarrassment—his lack of control while under the effects of hypoxia was not something he felt compelled to relive. But maybe it was time to swallow his pride.

Walter snapped open his laptop, located the file, and clicked twice.


	6. Guests

_I love you too, Walter._

_It'll be just you and me, and we'll be together. Forever._

He didn't sleep.

It took five viewings for the genius to convince himself that he wasn't unconscious and dreaming. Hearing those words in her voice, without being able to see her face, was…strange. He considered hacking into the footage from the control center, but the prospect of watching Paige deliver those lines with cold efficiency was too intimidating.

She'd saved his life. Walter admitted that his stubbornness aboard the rocket left the team with very few options. Paige effectively tapped into his hallucination to achieve the desired goal—his survival. It was admirable work. He could accept her actions, given the circumstances.

Much more difficult to accept was the possibility that…they meant _nothing_ to her. Paige didn't strike him as a woman who threw those words around lightly, but what if they were simply a means to an end? She had been with Tim at the time, and for months afterward. And despite how close they'd grown, again, she remained silent.

On the other hand, Walter could recall now how frequently she asked about his memories in his first week of recovery. How the blood had drained out of her face when the waiter mentioned Baked Alaska. How she seemed poised to explain more outside the restaurant, but stopped herself. And he could hardly ignore all the progress they'd made. Paige had been forthcoming about her feelings in the past—if anyone was guilty of leading the other on, even unintentionally, it was him. But if Paige _knew,_ if she was aware that he loved her and she spent her free time with him, embraced him when she left the garage, allowed an unprecedented level of physical and emotional closeness to develop between them, then there was still a chance. There was still hope.

Perhaps he was deluding himself. But he'd withdrawn from Paige before and gained nothing from it but regret.

"You look like Toby after a massive bender." Walter twisted around in his chair to see the mechanic exiting the Airstream, rubbing her hands over her face. He raised his eyebrow. "Yeah, I look like hell too. What's your excuse?"

"I…got caught up in research."

Even if Happy knew he was lying—as she undoubtedly did—she wouldn't press him. His assumption was proved correct as she gestured to the mug in his hands. "Why don't you make yourself a useful dude of honor and get me some coffee?"

"Okay." She was still referring to him by his position in the wedding party. That was a good sign. "Paige left that stuff for you," he added, pointing to a canvas bag on the liaison's desk. "It's a change of clothes she keeps here and some toiletries. She said you could use them if you need to. And you're, uh, welcome to shower upstairs if you're not going back to your apartment."

Happy crossed over to Paige's workstation and rifled through the bag. "Yikes. This'll have to do, I guess." She looked sideways at Walter, who was watching her from his chair, and snapped, "Coffee?"

"Right." He pushed up and disappeared into the kitchen, busying himself with reheating the half-full pot. Happy's bluntness was off-putting on the best of days, but he could let it slide. _No one gets out of wedding planning unscathed,_ Paige had told him the night before. _It's a grueling process. Imagine all the work we've done, with the added stress of a lifetime commitment. Especially for someone like Happy._ "So, uh…" He paused, unsure how to appropriately phrase his question. "Are you and Toby…"

"Going to end up in the People's Court fighting for custody of his hat?" Happy finished when she rounded the corner, dangling a cup in her hand as she leaned against the counter. "Probably not. I just needed a night away from all the insanity. I'm starting to feel like Wedding Barbie."

Walter held out his hand for her motorcycle-printed _Ride Like Hell_ mug and filled it three-quarters of the way while Happy retrieved the creamer from the fridge. "The problem was…about your vows?" he prompted.

She pressed her lips into a tight line. "I never should have agreed to write my own."

"Then why did you?" Happy was a woman of few words, and _very_ few of them could be described as romantic. "Can't you just…repeat after the officiant?"

She took a long sip of her coffee, and sighed. "Toby wanted this big wedding. And it's all his friends and family. I don't have anyone outside Scorpion except…" She looked down. "Except my dad, so that's…anyway, they don't know me. They don't know what I'm like. If Toby delivers a twenty-minute speech about us and all I say is 'I do,' everyone's gonna think I don't actually love him. It'll embarrass him. I know he'll agree if I ask him just to stick to the legal vows, but I didn't want to ask him for that out of the gate. I wanted to try. But everything I think of sounds stupid."

Walter processed her explanation as he replenished his own coffee. "Why do their opinions matter?" he asked eventually. Noting Happy's skeptical expression, the genius shook his head. "I'm not being insensitive. The vows are just for Toby, anyway. And…well, I know you. You're getting married. Everyone who's important understands how significant that is for people like us."

The mechanic shrugged. "True. I don't get married every day."

"Mmm. Just every few years."

"Shut up," Happy muttered. But she was smiling.

* * *

"My cousin Leslie always smells like cat." Toby peeled up a pink sticky note and moved it to the other side of the board, pressing it back down. "Ted has twelve dogs, so they should find common ground and stay out of everyone's hair. Fur. Heh." The shrink chuckled at his own joke. "Bobby is a professional ATV racer. Jackson is his brother and a grower of quasi-illegal substances. They'll eat sixty percent of the food but otherwise they should be fine."

"O-kay," Paige murmured, thinking hard before she shuffled several Post-Its around. "Yeah?"

"Huh. Nice one, Dineen. 197!" They both turned as Walter reached the bottom step. "Care to join us in this thrilling game of _Seating Chart_?"

"Not…at all." The genius set down his cup and stretched his arms over his head. It was already two in the afternoon and he'd been lost for hours in a coding assignment from Cabe. While the tension between Happy and Toby had been forced to take a backseat in his mind during that time, Walter was relieved to see and feel a lighter mood in the garage. "So I take it things are…back to normal?"

The shrink nodded. "Yeah. And thanks." He nodded to the opposite end of the room, where the rest of the team was taking turns high fiving a robotic arm. "Hap told me you talked her through it."

Walter didn't miss Paige's curious eyes on him. "I didn't. It was more…uh…listening."

He hadn't done a lot. But as much as he could relate to anyone, he related to the mechanic. She wasn't insulted by his honest opinions in the same way others were.

"Well, whatever you did defied years of expectation and actually helped," Toby countered. Walter grunted, unsure of the appropriate answer, if there was one. "And now I will be sneaking away with the Bonnie to my Clyde for half an hour. We need an ice cream break."

Walter frowned as the shrink whisked away, holding down his hat like it could blow away in the draft left by his own dramatic exit. "At least it wasn't a movie reference this time."

Paige smiled.

"So." She turned to face the genius as he took Toby's vacant seat. "I guess you didn't need me here after all."

"I'm sorry?"

"With Happy. You had it under control." Paige crossed her legs, resting her hands on her propped-up knee, and leaned forward. "I'm proud of you, Walter."

"Um…thanks." An embarrassing amount of blood rushed to his face and he cleared his throat. He very rarely craved approval from others, but gaining hers was borderline addictive.

"Happy asked me to help her with the vows. She talked it over with Toby and if she still feels like she can't make it work, they'll go traditional."

Walter nodded. "Makes sense. You are the translator."

"See?" She had the same reassuring expression she'd worn most of the previous night, when Walter's anxiety was through the roof. Paige's ability to both fluster and calm him was paradoxical. "Minor hiccup. I'm sure there will be more, but we'll deal with them when we get there, okay?"

"I…okay." He didn't know how many more nights he could handle like that. The potential effects of a breakup were disastrous and far-reaching. Logic dictated that the risk was too great.

But Toby and Happy _couldn't_ stay apart. Walter understood that now.

Paige's sharp intake of breath drew his attention and she circled the fingers of her left hand around her right, massaging with her thumb. "Cramp," she explained before he could ask. "I addressed like a hundred envelopes this morning."

"May I?" The liaison looked surprised, but she offered the offending hand to Walter, a small smile playing at her lips. She'd been highly receptive to physical contact lately and he welcomed the opportunity to ease her discomfort. Walter flipped her hand over, kneading deep into her soft palm with his thumbs and enjoying the sight as her eyes fell closed and she sighed contentedly.

He just wanted to touch her, as much as he could. In case he wouldn't get another chance to.

Eventually, he would have to tell her about space. The memories had been shaken loose and were coming back in fragments. _You're my whole world. I'm just a moon that orbits around you._

There were plenty of things he was glad Paige hadn't seen.

But if…if one day, they could _finally_ make this work, there couldn't be any secrets. Walter wasn't ready to give up on that, but he wasn't quite ready for the alternative, either. He wasn't ready for her to turn him down, explain that they were friends but she'd never meant any of it.

He would tell her after the wedding. There would be less to lose, then, less of this constant contact and the inherently romantic atmosphere that Paige was clearly enjoying. If it blew up in his face, he wouldn't ruin things for Happy and Toby. He could retreat and recover without the stress of pretending for them.

Paige exhaled and Walter tentatively brushed her knuckles before releasing her hand. "Better?"

"Amazing." She smiled affectionately at him. He wasn't prepared to give that up. Not now and maybe not ever. "Thank you."


	7. Centerpieces

Walter was remembering.

He had to be. There was no other explanation.

It started when Ralph claimed that a newly-discovered planet was one of the "most scientifically interesting" finds of the decade, and Walter's eyes immediately flew up to meet hers.

The next week, he told her he had a "surprise" for her before handing her a container of Chinese takeout that she'd been too lost in paperwork to notice he ordered.

Then it was the case, when she'd been trapped and scared, and Walter had arrived just in time. He yelled above the machinery for her to take his hand and Paige should have been too preoccupied to notice the flash in his eyes, but she wasn't.

He'd saved her life countless times that way. Maybe she was just reading into things that weren't there. But his reaction had been so obvious and visceral that Paige refused to accept she was imagining it.

Walter couldn't have remembered everything, though. If he'd remembered her professing love for him, promising they could be together once he was safe, he would hate her. And he didn't.

Paige had been close, _terrifyingly_ close to telling him outside the restaurant. But she'd chickened out, just like she was chickening out now. She wasn't ready to hurt him. Not when they were so close to…

No. It was _because_ they were edging toward something more that she needed to tell him. He would retreat. He'd feel betrayed. To postpone that was selfish, and would only hurt more if they were together.

She would explain everything after the wedding. Limit the impact of the carnage on Happy and Toby while they were celebrating the happiest time of their lives. If—when—it all went to hell, she could give Walter the space he needed. But god, what would she even say to him? That he'd admitted his love too late, after she stopped believing it was possible? That Tim was a shield she used to protect herself from getting hurt again? That she wasn't sure if she meant any of it, at the time, because she convinced herself it was a well-intentioned lie?

Paige didn't know how she was supposed to give Walter a satisfactory answer when she couldn't even explain it to herself.

"Did you find it?"

Paige nearly had a heart attack. She needed to get herself under control—Walter was becoming steadily more perceptive and she couldn't let him catch on to her distress. _After the wedding. After the wedding, you can tell him everything._

"Um…" For a second, she forgot what she'd even come into the room for. Glancing around, her eyes landed on a metal ladder in the corner and then on the unopened box that Toby had obnoxiously placed on the highest shelf. "Yeah, I just need a second to grab it."

"I can do it," Walter called from his desk.

"No, I'm okay." Paige dragged the ladder over to the shelving unit, snapping the sides into place just as the genius appeared. He held the rails to stabilize her while she climbed up to the second tallest rung and reached out, consciously balancing her weight to retrieve the box with both hands. "Did Toby have a rationale for hiding this up here?"

Walter shrugged. "He probably considered it a target for theft."

The liaison rolled her eyes, passing the package down to Walter with one hand while the other gripped the top of the ladder. "Yes, obviously the most valuable loot in this garage full of government projects and genius inventions is a box of centerpiece decorations."

"I didn't say it was logical."

Paige glanced behind her before working her way back down. She was almost at the bottom when the sole of her boot slipped and she stumbled, Walter's hands instinctively grabbing her waist to keep her from falling.

Her first thought was whether he had dropped the box or set it down before she tripped, but that concern was quickly chased from her mind when she realized that Walter hadn't let go. The liaison still had one hand on the ladder and the other was clutching his shoulder, her nails pressing slightly into his back—if it was uncomfortable, he didn't seem to notice. Walter flexed his fingers gently against her sides and Paige thought her knees would buckle. It was ridiculous how the slightest bit of contact from him could light her up, and his intense focus was doing nothing to bring her back to her senses.

She wanted this, _god_ she wanted this, her heart was thundering and his hands traveled slightly upward, making her tremble involuntarily. He moved closer, painfully slowly, and Paige had no intention of being the first one to pull away. She'd wondered once if his touch left her burning simply because she had gone so long without being touched. She knew now that wasn't the case.

"Mom? We're back!"

Walter and Paige jumped apart at the sound of Ralph's voice, her son's excited chattering nearly drowned by the pounding in her ears. She ducked out of the room without another glance at the genius, unable to confront whatever she was going to see in his eyes.

_That was a mistake._ He wouldn't be trying to kiss her if he knew what really happened on that rocket. If he knew that she'd lied to him, chosen someone else over him in the misguided hope of having a normal life, lashed out at him because her own feelings were unmanageable. Walter deserved the truth first, and even if he forgave her, things wouldn't be the same between them. She could lose all of this. She could lose him.

Paige took a deep breath and plastered on a smile for her son's benefit as she hugged him. "Hey, baby. I missed you."


	8. Bachelorette Party

He thought he was getting better at reading signals.

Her signals, at least. Paige was one of only a handful of people he had a vested interest in connecting with, learning what they needed and wanted. Among the team, there was no one he understood less yet hoped to understand more.

Paige's signals seemed so clear to him. Breaking her fall was as instinctive as breathing, considering how many times he'd done it in the field. But this was different. He felt her pulse jump under his fingers, saw her face flush and her eyes widen, shivered as her nails dug gently into his shoulder. She was displaying every marker of desire he knew, and when she didn't pull away, his craving for her took over and he got closer.

And then Ralph returned.

Walter could never begrudge the young genius's presence, but Ralph had a history of less than impeccable timing. Perhaps it was for the best. Paige hadn't even been able to look at him. Was he too forward? They'd had a difficult year, only landing on solid ground a few months earlier. Maybe she wasn't ready to push the boundaries of their friendship. Maybe…maybe, more painfully, she felt attraction for him and nothing else. Their chemistry had long been palpable, but that alone wouldn't get him what he truly wanted with her.

The alarm on Walter's phone beeped and he sighed. He'd lost his debate with Toby over the necessity of a bachelor party, and he desperately needed a shower before the rest of the team arrived at the garage. He supposed he should at least be grateful that Toby's choices—one of those ridiculous science oddities museums, followed by a tiki bar on the beach—were devoid of strippers and terrible dance music.

It didn't matter, though. Whatever activities he was forced to endure, he'd be thinking about Paige the entire time.

* * *

"I can't _believe_ you won't let me take you out."

Happy snorted loudly, fumbling around for a smaller wrench. "You've made that clear. But unless you're interested in attending a hog show dominated by bearded, tattooed bikers, this is our most neutral option."

"But we work here," Paige whined as she swallowed another swig of her margarita. "This isn't a bachelorette party. Bachelorette parties have obnoxious music and embarrassing party favors and shirtless men, and you have…" She gestured lazily to Happy's motorcycle. "The same thing you do _every other day of your life_."

"Yeah, there's a reason for that, Dineen. It's because I like it. And although you and I are friends, we have, like, zero things in common, so just be happy I agreed to get drunk with you."

The boys were gone by the time she got to the garage, delayed by Ralph's sitter's stalled engine. Paige was secretly relieved. She'd been dodging Walter since their almost kiss, afraid she might finish what he started before she gathered up the courage to come clean.

She shook her head. _Can I not think about Walter for one night?_ "But you aren't," she complained, draining the rest of her cocktail. The lightheadedness was making it harder to focus and Paige welcomed it. "You've had two of these and four beers and you're like…still not even a little drunk."

"I'm pretty drunk. I just handle it well. But trust me, this bike is hella blurry."

Paige giggled as the mechanic lost her grip on a bolt. "You're gonna break that thing."

"Screw you. I could do this in my sleep." She grinned at the liaison. "I'll make Toby test it out first."

The two women burst into laughter. "I would pay to see Toby on this," Paige gasped, wiping hot tears from her eyes. "There's no way he can drive a motorcycle."

"He can barely drive a car. But I'm certainly going to mess with his head about it. You staying until they get back?"

"Nah. I'm gonna sober up a little so I don't weird Ralph out and then take an Uber." Her son would likely be asleep when she got home, and Paige didn't want to crash around her apartment in a stupor and wake him up. She knew it wouldn't scare him—he'd probably list the effects of alcohol on the body, in great detail—but it was already nearing midnight and he had classes the next day. Paige wondered if Ralph would share Walter's staunch position against drinking.

_Damn it._

"Mmhmm."

"What?"

Happy raised her eyebrows at Paige and turned her attention back to her task. "You think the whole team doesn't know you're avoiding 197 like he ran over your cat? He's been staring at you piningly and it's depressing."

"I can't help it if my sitter was late," Paige said defiantly. She really didn't have enough alcohol in her for this conversation. Maybe if she cracked open that other bottle of wine in the fridge.

"Toby and I thought you were making that up."

"I wasn't!" Great, now the team thought she was a liar? How suspiciously had she been acting? "I'm not avoiding Walter. It's just complicated right now."

That was clearly still more information than she should have volunteered, because Happy spun around with curious, slightly glazed eyes. "Not good."

"Not _bad_ ," Paige countered. She and Walter weren't fighting. She just needed some space and _god why does everything in my life always come back to him?_

"Because he's your Toby. Annoying as hell but you can never get rid of him."

The liaison blinked. Either she'd accidentally said that last part out loud or Happy was literally reading her mind.

"You kissed, didn't you?" Paige's face erupted into flames and the mechanic smirked. "I knew it."

"No! I mean…not really." The truth wasn't any worse than what Happy already suspected. Paige set down her drink and dropped her face into her hands, her buzz suddenly seeming like more of an inconvenience than a release. "I fell off a ladder. Walter made a move. Ralph interrupted us. That's the whole story."

"Seriously, 197 pounced after three years of stalling and that's all you have to say about it?" Happy shook her head. "I don't buy it. You're telling me he didn't confront you about confessing your undying love for each other in space?"

Paige started, suddenly feeling a lot soberer. "Walter hasn't remembered that yet. How the hell do _you_ know?"

"Bad news, Dineen." Happy pointed to the Airstream behind her with her thumb. "I was here when Walt watched the footage. Woke up in the middle of the night and he was at his desk. He doesn't need to remember jack. He heard everything. And I…overheard everything."

 _Oh god oh god oh god._ That was months ago. Paige thought she might be sick.

"Oh boy," Happy muttered as she took in the sight of the ghostly pale liaison. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you that. You don't have an eidetic memory, right? So you can just forget I said anything."

Why wasn't he _angry_? Why hadn't he yelled? Or iced her out? He knew everything and he'd still tried to kiss her?

She was so stupid. He wasn't just remembering, he was dropping hints to see if she would tell him the truth. And then Walter had finally, _finally_ worked up the nerve to break their stalemate and she'd disappeared. Did he think she was rejecting him? She was definitely going to pass out.

"Breathe, Dineen. I don't want to take this party to the ER." Happy watched her with concern as Paige wrapped an arm around her stomach, inhaling and exhaling as evenly as she could. "Walt's clearly fine with it. Or at least way more fine than I expected him to be. He's gonna want to know if you meant it, though."

The liaison's eyes flew up to meet Happy's, another wave of guilt flowing through her. What could she say? If she didn't mean it, then she was a liar who manipulated Walter's feelings, making her no different than anyone else in his life who had preyed on his low EQ. And if she did, then she'd spent years encouraging him to open himself up to love, and then shut him out when he did and pushed him to accept Tim instead of assuring him that his feelings weren't one-sided.

How the hell was he so calm about this? He'd no doubt come to all the same realizations she had. "I have to talk to him."

"Well, Toby made the guys hand over their phones, so you're not getting anywhere there. They'll probably be back by two or three, though."

"Crap. I can't. I have to relieve the babysitter before one." Paige ran her hands through her hair in frustration. She should have been honest. She should have kissed him. If she'd known... _why didn't you just tell me, Walter?_ "I-I'll come in early tomorrow. When my head is clear. I'm sorry, Happy. I'm…I'm not…"

"In a partying mood?" the mechanic guessed. "It's cool. I'll be fine here. The bachelorette thing was your idea anyway."

Was there anyone on the team she wasn't letting down lately? Paige grabbed her phone and opened up the app to hail a ride. "Well, I'm sorry that I made this the worst one ever."

Happy shrugged. "I don't know. I had fun."

* * *

Of course she overslept.

Of course she fumbled around for five minutes trying to find aspirin for her headache, of course Ralph lost his homework, of course the dental office called her, of course she needed gas because her car was on empty, of course she spilled coffee on her shirt and had to go back and change after dropping her son at school.

By the time she made it to the garage, tired and frazzled, the team was already there looking equally haggard. Walter, of course, wasn't hungover in the slightest and had set out a row of chilled water bottles on the table for everyone else. She opened one gratefully and dropped her purse, immediately making her way to the genius's desk. Maybe they could take a walk to get privacy from the other geniuses. "Good morning."

He glanced up at her, surprise coloring his features like she'd been avoiding him for months instead of—at most—forty-eight hours. "Good morning. Did you have fun last night?"

"Uh…yeah. Listen, can we—."

"Got a case!" Cabe bellowed as he pushed into the garage, a petite woman with red hair following closely behind him. "Down some coffee because I need you guys at a hundred percent."

Walter glanced apologetically at Paige. She nodded. "It's okay. Later."

" _Hell no_ ," Happy interrupted emphatically, pushing her way past Toby to face the agent and his mystery client. "My wedding is in two days. Our last dozen cases have all had complications and I am not risking it. We're out."

"Of course, honey bear," Toby added when he realized Happy was waiting on him for reinforcement. "Unless it's a big payday. Then we're back in." She glared at him. "What? I'm reaching MC Hammer levels of broke with this wedding."

Cabe sighed. "I know, kid. I'll do everything in my power to get us back on time. But right now, people are counting on us. And I know that means more to you."

The mechanic was silent for a long moment as the team anxiously awaited her reaction. No one was stupid enough to contradict her, whatever the stakes were. She blew out a tense breath. "Fine. Let's hurry this thing up."


	9. Speech

"It's Murphy's Law. Anything that can go—."

Paige held up her hand. "Sylvester, don't finish that sentence."

She was _starving_. Their "rehearsal dinner" turned out to be granola bars from a vending machine after they overshot their restaurant reservation by eight hours, and Paige had been so ravenous the next morning that she polished off a bagel with cream cheese, fitted dress be damned. The rest of the day was crumbling so spectacularly that Paige might have had a nuclear meltdown if she wasn't accustomed to the chaos that regularly surrounded Scorpion.

Paige pointed to Sylvester. "You, make something to put on Happy's rash to calm the swelling. I don't even know what she rubbed against. Go ask her." She turned. "Cabe, the caterers have a flat tire, stay on the phone and do what you need to do to get them here. Walter…"

"Ralph duty?"

She sighed and nodded. The last thing she wanted to do was send Walter away, but Ralph had gotten a zero-notice meeting to pitch a project he was working on and Paige reluctantly agreed to have a member of the team scoop him up afterward. _Mother of a genius problems._

The liaison had barely seen her son in thirty hours, but she knew she couldn't deny him a good opportunity. That wasn't even her biggest concern. She'd been trying desperately to get a moment alone with Walter, but their mission to protect the drinking water in Peru had experienced a few complications. When they weren't being actively being hunted by a rogue militia, he was on the phone, and then she was on the phone, and then he fell asleep on the plane and she gave up and joined him. The great space crisis would have to wait. She had plenty of crises to handle right in front of her.

"Okay, guys." Paige released a deep breath. "We can do this."

* * *

Happy looked beautiful.

She might not have thought she could pull off the fuss of a big wedding, but Paige vehemently disagreed. In that silvery-gray dress with the straps crossing over her back and the hem falling just below her ankles, her hair loose around her shoulders, the smoky eyes Paige had never seen her without, Happy was…herself. And Toby was staring at her like she hung the moon.

"Uh…" The mechanic shifted her weight, her hair dipping to one side and revealing just a hint of the rash that Paige and Sylvester had spent an hour covering up. _Stupid Peruvian plants._ "I'm never going to be very good at expressing things. But you've known that since you met me. You're the one person I've never felt like I had to change for." She bit her lip. "So, um…look. Being in Scorpion has taught me that if we never give up, we can pretty much achieve the impossible. I won't give up. Even if I don't always say the right thing, just know that I'll be fighting for our marriage, Toby Curtis, because this is important."

Paige could feel the heat of Walter's eyes on her. She wondered what he was thinking. Was he remembering, like she was, the way he'd made her knees buckle when he helped her into this dress? The way he looked at her the first time she held a bouquet of flowers? Was he measuring her up to Happy's vows?

_Please don't. Not right now. I gave up. I didn't fight for you._

She kept her attention firmly on the bride and groom as Toby cleared his throat thickly. "You're right. I've always known who you are. Don't think I would ever want to change that person." They were practically beaming at each other, and Paige had to blink back the tears that were pricking at her eyes. And then she did the stupidest thing she could have done.

She looked at Walter.

Paige nearly crumbled under his gaze. It was every bit as intense and affectionate as Toby's was toward Happy, and she didn't understand it. How could he still love her like this after everything they'd been through?

The same way, she guessed, that she could still be so in love with him.

"You are rare. And remarkable. And you're always there when I need you, which is so much more important than anything you could say." Toby squeezed the mechanic's hands. "That's what I want, Happy Quinn. I won't ever stop wanting that person."

The mechanic blinked in surprise and Paige barely heard her murmur, "Wait, were your vows shorter than mine?"

Toby shrugged. "I thought it might help," he whispered, a grin spreading across his face. "I'll give you the full version tonight."

* * *

"Oh god I can't do this."

Cabe rubbed a hand over Paige's back and then patted it. "You got this, kid. Up you go."

He practically pushed her into standing position, causing her to wobble slightly on her heels. Paige recovered and straightened her notecards in her hand. Despite being Scorpion's translator, she'd never cared much for public speaking, especially in this crowd of mostly anonymous faces. And the one face she typically relied on for strength and comfort had darted out a few minutes earlier to take a phone call from Elia. She glanced at Ralph, slightly more at ease when he smiled and gave her a subtle thumbs-up.

Paige plastered on a cheerful expression and sucked in a breath. "On behalf of Happy and Toby, I would like to thank each of you for attending this very special celebration today. I know it's strange that I'm giving the toast. Having a best ma'am isn't very conventional. But in three years, I've never known these two to do anything the traditional way." There was a quiet laugh among the guests and she relaxed a little more. "The day I met them was one of the scariest days of my life. Hundreds of lives at risk. And when they succeeded, I thought…I can't believe there are people like this in real life. People so intelligent, and selfless, and courageous. Happy and Toby are all those things independently, but together…it's impossible to overstate how much better they make the world."

Paige saw movement out of the corner of her eye and pushed back another wave of emotion when she realized Walter was there, hovering in the doorway to avoid creating a distraction. She didn't know how long he'd been listening, but his expression suggested that he caught enough.

"A-And how much better they make each other," she continued, forcing the lump in her throat down. "Even when they bicker so much I think they're going to kill each other…" Paige grinned. "It's impossible not to see that they would do anything for each other. They have the kind of love that makes even nonbelievers believe. The kind that has proven wrong people who never thought love was real, or who lost faith that love could be worth fighting for. They break through every obstacle that's thrown at them, together, and they keep going. And what can you say about a couple like that, except…" She glanced to her other side, at the shrink and the mechanic, and flashed them a warm smile. "Except that you're meant for each other, and I wish you so much happiness. I'm insanely lucky to have met you that day at the diner. And to get a front-row seat for everything that happens from here on out. Because there's no way that your future will be anything short of incredible." Paige lifted her glass. "To Happy and Toby."

* * *

Paige didn't think she'd ever been so grateful to see food. Cabe had to call a tow truck to get the caterer's van to the venue in time, but dinner was hot and ready and delicious and that was all she really cared about. Despite the inauspicious beginning, Happy and Toby were hitched and everything had more or less worked out smoothly. _Just like a Scorpion case,_ Paige thought with a smirk.

Ralph was chatting animatedly with Toby's thirteen-year-old second cousin about his presentation while Sylvester helped an annoyed kitchen staff disinfect the buffet tables. Cabe and Allie were posing for photos, and Happy and Toby were swaying together on the floor, her cheek pressed against his shoulder, thoroughly oblivious to the rest of the world.

The only person she hadn't been able to pick out of the crowd was Walter. _Clearly, this is a sign from the universe._ Paige was resigning herself to the fact that she and the genius were never going to speak again when a hand rested on the small of her back and she spun around, startled.

"Sorry." Walter smiled. "Do you want to dance?"


	10. Dance

_Sorry." Walter smiled. "Do you want to dance?"_

He loved having her in his arms like this. Neither of them had slept much for days, but Walter didn't feel the exhaustion when he was close to Paige. He wasn't really aware of anything but her, the scent of her perfume, the warmth of her hands, the way her hair curled over her exposed shoulders.

"You look beautiful." Walter was surprised how easily it rolled off his tongue. He supposed it was just a fact, now, and facts were easy for him.

Paige's cheeks tinged pink. He hoped he wasn't making her uncomfortable, but he enjoyed knowing that he could fluster her, even if it was only a fraction of what she did to him. "You've seen this dress before."

His fingers flexed involuntarily around hers. Even without perfect recall, he knew he would never forget her reaction to his touch when she tried it on. "It looks different tonight," he murmured, not entirely sure what that meant. Everything was different since they'd started this. "You excelled. With the wedding. It was a success, despite the setbacks."

The liaison's lips curved up. "It wouldn't be a Scorpion function if things went smoothly." Walter frowned. He couldn't tell if she was poking fun at him. "Thank you, but it wasn't just me. The whole team came through. I'd say you did your fair share in making tonight happen."

"Well, you did steal some of your speech from me." A joke. She would be pleased at that. "But it wasn't Happy and Toby that made me believe love was real."

Not a joke. Paige's smile dropped instantly and the genius was fairly certain they had stopped moving, though neither of them broke away. "Walter…" Her voice was different. He'd said something wrong. He turned those last fifteen words over in his head, analyzing them, before she interrupted his thoughts. "I've been trying to talk to you for days. I know that you know. About space."

Oh.

He'd been dropping hints, of course, but if Paige had picked up on them, she did a superlative job of hiding it. Walter realized now, though, how anxiously she attempted to get his attention after the bachelorette party. This was a recent development.

Paige bit the inside of her cheek. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Walter suddenly felt itchy in his tuxedo. They stuck out far too much, standing awkwardly still like this. Someone would notice. He began to move again, grateful when Paige followed his lead. "I knew it would strain things between us," he admitted finally, blowing out a breath. "And I didn't want that. Not when I'd just gotten you back." Her brow arched and Walter cringed at his choice of expression. "A-As a friend."

"I'm sorry, Walter." She shook her head, her eyes falling closed for a second. "I'm sorry I kept it from you. I'm sorry that I…" Paige trailed off, blinking the way she did when she was holding back tears. He really hoped she wouldn't cry. He loathed seeing her cry. "I can't even imagine what you must be feeling right now."

Walter cleared his throat. He'd had months to sort out his reaction. But it didn't mean he would be any better at explaining it to her. "Uh…a-a lot of things. But I'm not…I'm not angry, Paige."

"You should be," she rebutted so quickly that he wondered if she'd known what he was going to say. "I would be angry if you told me you loved me and then dated someone else. I was angry when you dated Linda and you didn't even believe in love then."

"This was different." He pressed his lips together. "I understand why you chose Tim. He was—."

"Stop. Please don't do that." Paige's hand dropped from his shoulder and landed on his chest, pushing on it lightly, not enough to separate them but enough to add emphasis to her verbal commands. He complied and let the rest of the sentence die out. "I didn't stay with Tim because he was better, or more normal, or anything that you're thinking. I was…" Her voice cracked slightly. "I was scared, Walter. Things kept failing between us before they even started and it hurt then, even though I knew that you didn't believe in love and it was my stupid decision to fall for you anyway. Imagine how much it would hurt if you _did_ love me and it still didn't work. I wasn't ready to take that chance again." He could feel her shaking under his hands and curled his fingers into her back, hoping it might reassure her at least that he wasn't going to disappear. He knew what it was like to be scared. If he'd confronted his fear earlier, perhaps they could have avoided all this. "I'm so sorry, Walter. I know I should have been honest with you. At least if you were yelling at me, I could…I would know where to start fixing this."

The genius stepped closer, listening to her uneven breathing, trying to gather his thoughts. He knew they would be forced to have this conversation eventually, but he wanted…if he was being honest, he'd just wanted time. Time to win her over, to be the person she needed. He hoped there had been enough. "Knowing that you knew a-and you kept dating him…it hurt, Paige. Of course it hurt." Walter swallowed. "But it's not nearly as bad as when I think about…about losing this. B-Being with you and Ralph all the time. Being together. I don't want that to be over." He squeezed her hand again. It was like an anchor to him. "Please tell me what I can do so this won't be over."

The first song had ended. He'd barely noticed. This one was still slow, though, and Walter was thankful because he wasn't sure he could let go of Paige even if the circumstances necessitated it.

She leaned back, studying him, even though she knew he was telling the truth. He hadn't always been honest with her, but he'd never lied about having feelings, only about not having them. "I don't want it to be over either," Paige said quietly, the words catching in her throat. "The past few months have been…I've been so happy. So has Ralph. And I hate that I'm ruining everything now."

"You're not." Walter didn't know what else he could say to make her understand that he wasn't upset. That knowing she was happy with him too, that she wanted more of whatever they had, was enough for him. "I-It's okay. I don't…I don't care what happened in space. I don't even care if you didn't mean it. I d-don't want the past to ruin the present."

"But I did mean it, Walter." Her eyes were glassy and Paige lifted the heel of her hand to clear them, careful not to smudge her mascara any more than she'd already done. "I wish I didn't. Because then I could tell you that I panicked and said what I thought you needed to hear, and you could forgive me for that. B-But I could have said something else. Anything else." Her bottom lip trembled and she exhaled unsteadily. "I said it because if I failed, and you didn't come back, I wanted that to be the last thing you heard. The truth. A fact. I told myself that it wasn't, but I loved you before that and I love you now, so it's logically impossible that I didn't love you then."

Later, Walter would question her application of logic to the situation, but that would have to wait. He couldn't be there anymore, not in that room, in front of all those people. Not for what he needed to do. "Come with me."

The liaison blinked in confusion, pulling back instinctively. "What?"

"Please, Paige." He tugged on her hand, feeling her acquiesce and fall in step behind him. Walter glanced around to check on Ralph, satisfied when he saw the young genius dancing with Cabe and Allie. He knew Paige had done the same. They edged around the crowd and through the back entrance that he and Ralph had explored earlier.

The sound of waves crashing against the rocky cliffs was loud, much louder than he remembered from only a few hours earlier. Maybe it was amplified by the pounding in his ears. Paige had remarked that the scenery was romantic, when they arrived that morning, but that wasn't why he chose to bring her there.

"Walter?" She dropped his hand and ran hers over her face. "I knew you would be upset. Go ahead. Say whatever you need to—."

He kissed her, hard, his right arm circling her waist and his left resting just below her ribcage, the contact almost chaste. If he thought he was being forward on the ladder, then this was certainly a risk, but _she loved him_ and part of him thought he might snap if he didn't touch her.

The genius released her abruptly before she could react, searching her eyes for a reaction in the dim outdoor light. Paige knew—she always knew—that he needed confirmation, needed her to make the second move, and there was barely a pause before she pressed her body back against his, a moan escaping her throat as she recaptured his lips. Her hands tangled in his hair, fingers curling, as his settled on her upper and lower back.

Her tongue, _god_ her tongue, it was magic as it stroked his, and Walter pulled her closer, his desperation for her overwhelming. He could have done this _days weeks months years ago_ , he chastised himself, could have felt all of this if he'd opened himself up to it the first time they kissed, but that didn't matter, because she was here now, her hot breath on his skin as they broke for air. "Oh my god," she panted as she dropped her head into the crook of his neck. "Walter."

He kept his arms around her, suddenly unsure of himself now that his moment of impulse had passed. But this felt good. He hoped it felt good for her too. "I…I didn't really have a plan beyond that."

Paige laughed breathlessly and straightened up, her arms sliding around his neck so she could meet his eyes. "How about…" Her thumb brushed over his temple as she smiled at him affectionately. Walter wondered if she was surprised that he wasn't pulling away, making excuses, or if she knew that this time was different. Knew he was ready. "We dance until everyone leaves. See our friends off and help clean up. Say goodnight to Ralph before he leaves with Sly." She pressed their foreheads together, her sigh sending a shudder through him. "And then you come home with me."

He pressed his fingers into her waist, the suggestion and the tone of her voice making him lightheaded. Fortunately, he didn't need access to his full IQ to formulate an answer. "I-I would like that."

"Walter?" He hummed in response, and Paige leaned forward, placing her lips to his ear. "If you want, you can take the dress off this time."


End file.
